Summer Recipe: Sweet Cherry Syrup (No Cherry Pitter Required!)

Kate Ramos
Kate Ramos
Kate Ramos is the creator of ¡Hola! Jalapeño, a Latin-inspired food blog. Her recipes merge authentic Latin ingredients and flavors with modern preparations; embracing the fresh, healthy, simple cooking that is at the root of traditional Latin cuisine. 
published Aug 14, 2013
summer
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Credit: Faith Durand

Makes1 cup

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(Image credit: Faith Durand)

A handful of sweet, juicy cherries epitomizes great summer eating but sometimes that dark, sweet flavor needs to be shared, needs a friend, needs to mingle.

Cherries and lime? Friends. Cherries and shaved ice? Best buds. Do I even need to mention how close cherries and bourbon are? That’s why it’s best to take at least a pound or two and reduce them to their purest form.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

I know I’m not alone when I say the only thing stopping me from creating these combinations is having to remove all those pesky pits. A cherry pitter is a fine contraption, if I didn’t mind cherry juice spewing everywhere and staining the favorite white shirt I am inevitably wearing, and if I actually owned a cherry pitter — which I don’t. Instead I was determined to find a lazy-lady’s way to make a sweet, crimson juice without all the work.

Delightfully, I realized it doesn’t take much more than a potato masher and a strainer to separate juice from pit. Simply mash the cherries with some sugar and cook over the stove top until they have released their juice and begin to fall apart. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve and you’re left with a sweet, ruby syrup that will give everything from limeade to pancakes a seductive cherry spin.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)
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Sweet Cherry Syrup

Makes 1 cup

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 1 pound

    stemmed sweet cherries (about 3 cups)

  • 3/4 cup

    granulated sugar

Instructions

  1. Combine cherries and sugar in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir to coat cherries in sugar, and then use a potato masher to squash the cherries and release their juice (this will be easier to do once they have warmed up a bit).

  2. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Cook at a simmer, adjusting heat as necessary, and cook until cherries are soft and start to break down, about 15 minutes. 

  3. Set a strainer over a medium bowl and pour cherry mixture into the strainer. Press down on the solids until all the juice has gone through the strainer. Discard solids and chill the syrup until ready to use. Syrup will keep refrigerated for up to two weeks. 

Check back in on Friday, as I’ll give you one of my favorite ways to use this cherry syrup!

(Images: Kate Ramos)

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Beverages
Drinks